Mothers in the Military: Violence and Negative Perinatal Outcomes
Main Article Content
Abstract
The number of women serving in the United States (US) armed forces has more than tripled since 2000. The increased number of women highlights some areas of vulnerability, especially during the perinatal period, that are not currently being addressed. Compared to civilians, women in the military are more likely to have experienced adverse childhood experiences and intimate partner violence. They are also at higher risk for military sexual trauma than their male counterparts. For pregnant women, past or current violence increases the risk for adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. During pregnancy and postpartum, military mothers are at higher risk for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation than civilian mothers. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent studies on women in the military, examining rates of violence and adverse outcomes related to their experiences of violence. The findings do not allow us to understand underlying mechanisms but can describe associations. Overall, the findings are bleak but could become a call to action. With intervention, these outcomes can improve. However, we must first realize that a problem exists, which the present article highlights.
Keywords:
Military, veterans, women, perinatal, pregnancy, postpartum, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), intimate partner violence, military sexual trauma
Article Details
How to Cite
KENDALL-TACKETT, Kathleen.
Mothers in the Military: Violence and Negative Perinatal Outcomes.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 10, oct. 2024.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5900>. Date accessed: 22 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i10.5900.
Section
Review Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
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26. Cichowski SB, Rogers RG, Clark EA, Murata E, Murata A, Murata G. Military sexual trauma in female veterans is associated with chronic pain conditions. Military Medicine 2017;182(9/10) doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-16-00393.
27. Yancey JR, Carson CN, McGlade EC, Yurgelun-Todd DA. A literature review of mental health symptom outcomes in US veterans and service members following combat exposure and military sexual trauma. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 2024;25 (2):1431-47 doi: 10.1177/15248380231178764.
28. Gaffey AE, Rosman L, Sico JJ, et al. Military sexual trauma and incident hypertension: A 16-year cohort study of young and middle-aged men and women. Journal of Hypertension 2022;40(11):2307 -15 doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003267.
29. Gross GM, Kroll-Desrosiers AR, Mattocks K. A longitudinal investigation of military sexual trauma and perinatal depression. Journal of Women's Health 2020;29(1):38-45 doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.7628.
30. Kendall-Tackett KA. Depression in new mothers: Causes, consequences, and risk factors. Fourth edition ed. Abington UK: Routledge, 2023.
31. Schafer KM, Wallace KF, Kross-Desrosiers A, Mattocks K. Posttraumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, and birth experiences at the Veteran Health Administration. Women's Health Issues 2024;34(3):303-08 doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2023.11.006.
32. Creech SK, Kroll-Desrosiers AR, Benzer JK, Pulverman CS, Mattocks K. The impact of military sexual trauma on parent-infant bonding in a sample of perinatal women veterans. Depression & Anxiety 2022;39(3):201-10 doi: 10.1002/da.23218.
33. Alvarez-Segura M, Garcia-Esteve L, Torres A, et al. Are women with a history of abuse more vulnerable to perinatal depressive symptoms? A systematic review. Archives of Women's Mental Health 2014;17:343-57.
34. Kastello JC, Jacobsen KH, Gaffney KF, Kodadek MP, Bullock LC, Sharps PW. Posttraumatic stress disorder among low-income women exposed to perinatal intimate partner violence. Archives of Women's Mental Health 2016;19:521-28.
35. Zerach G. The contribution of childhood adversity and potentially traumatic events during military service to PTSD and Complex PTSD symptoms among Israeli women veterans. Psychological Trauma 2023;15(8):1259-`170 doi: 10.1037/tra0001463.
2. Hugin M, Shaw JG. Obstetric outcomes in U.S. veterans: Emerging knowledge, considerations, and gaps. Seminars in Reproductive Medicine 2019;37(1):17-23 doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1692128.
3. Felitti VJ, Anda RF, Nordenberg D, et al. Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1998;14(4):245-58 doi: S0749379798000 178 [published Online First: 1998/06/23].
4. Anda RF, Dong M, Brown DW, et al. The relationship of adverse childhood experiences to a history of premature death of family members. BMC Public Health 2009;9:106 doi: 1471-2458-9-106 [pii] 10.1186/1471-2458-9-106 [published Online First: 2009/04/18].
5. Sachs-Ericsson N, Cromer K, Hernandez A, Kendall-Tackett KA. Childhood abuse, health and pain-related problems: The role of psychiatric disorders and current life stress. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation 2009;10:170-88.
6. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Fast facts: Preventing adverse childhood experiences. 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html.
7. Schwartz A, Galera C, Kerbage H, Montagni I, Tzourio C. Adverse childhood experiences and ADHD symptoms among French college students. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma 2023; 16(4):1109-17 doi: 10.1007/s40653-023-00543-z.
8. Aronson KR, Perkins DF, Morgan NR, et al. The impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and combat exposure on mental health conditions among new post-9/11 veterans. Psychological Trauma 2020;12(7):698-706 doi: 10.1037/tra0000614.
9. Blosnich JR, Garfin DR, Maguen S, et al. Differences in childhood adversity, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt among veterans and nonveterans. American Psychologist 2021;76(2):28 4-99 doi: 10.1037/amp0000755.
10. White SJ, Sin J, Sweeney A, et al. Global prevalence and mental health outcomes of intimate partner violence among women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 2024;25(1):494-511 doi: 10.117 7/15248380231155529.
11. Bauman BL, Ko JY, Cox S, et al. Postpartum depressive symptoms and provider discussions about perinatal depression: United States 2018. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2020;69(19):575-81.
12. Silverman ME, Loudon H. Antenatal reports of pre-pregnancy abuse is associated with symptoms of depression in the postpartum period. Archives of Women's Mental Health 2010;13:411-15.
13. Alhusen JL, Ray E, Sharps PW, Bullock L. Intimate partner violence during pregnancy: Maternal and neonatal outcomes. Journal of Women's Health (Larchmont) 2015;24(1):100-06 doi: 10.1089/jwh.2014.4872.
14. Tran TDT, Murray L, Vo TV. Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and maternal and child health outcomes: A scoping review of the literature from low-and-middle income countries from 2016-2021. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2022;22(1) doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04604-3.
15. Howard LM, Oram S, Galley H, Trevillion K, Feder G. Domestic violence and perinatal mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Medicine 2013;10(5) doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001452.
16. Barrios YV, Gelaye B, Zhong Q, et al. Association of childhood physical and sexual abuse with intimate partner violence, poor general health, and depressive symptoms. PLoS One 2015 doi: 10.1371/journal/pone.0116609.
17. Brignone E, Sorrentino A, Roberts CB, Dichter ME. Suicidal ideation and behaviors among women veterans with recent exposure to intimate parter violence. General Hospital Psychiatry 2018;5 5:60-64 doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2018.10.006.
18. Cowlishaw S, Freijah I, Kartal D, et al. Intimate partner violence (IPV) in military and veteran populations: A systematic review of population-based surveys and population screening studies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022;19 doi: 10.3390/ijerph19148853.
19. Lutgendorf MA, Busch JM, Doherty DA, Conza LA, Moone SO, Magann EF. Prevalence of domestic violence in a pregnant military population. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2009;113(4):866-72.
20. Creech SK, Pulverman CS, Kroll-Desrosiers AR, Kinney R, Dichter ME, Mattocks K. Intimate partner violence among pregnant veterans: Prevalence, associated mental health condititions, and health care utilization. Journal of General Internal Medicine 2021;36(10):2982-88 doi: 10.1007/s1160 6-020-06498-3.
21. Miller CJ, Stolzmann K, Dichter ME, et al. Intimate partner violence screening for women in the Veterans Health Administration: Temporal trends from the early years of implementation 2014-2020. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma 2022:1-9 doi: 10.1080/10926771.2021 .2019160.
22. Manzo LL, Dindinger RA, Batten J, Combellick JL, Basile-Ibrahim B. The impact of military trauma exposures on servicewomen's pregnancy outcomes: A scoping review. Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health 2024, online.
23. Baca SA, Crawford JN, Allard CB. PTSD, depression, and suicidality among survivors of child sexual trauma (CST), military sexual trauma (MST), and sexual revictimization (CST + MST). Psychological Trauma 2023;15(8):1271-79 doi: 10. 1037/tra0001149.
24. Galovski TE, McSweeney LB, Wooley MG, Alpert E, Nillni YI. The relative impact of different types of military sexual trauma on long-term PTSD, depression, and suicidality. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2023;38(15-16):9465-91 doi: 10.1177/088 62605231168823.
25. Nillni YI, Fox AB, Cox K, Paul E, Vogt D, Galovski TE. The impact of military sexual trauma and warfare exposure on women veterans' perinatal outcomes. Psychological Trauma 2022;14 (5):730-37 doi: 10.1037/tra0001095.
26. Cichowski SB, Rogers RG, Clark EA, Murata E, Murata A, Murata G. Military sexual trauma in female veterans is associated with chronic pain conditions. Military Medicine 2017;182(9/10) doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-16-00393.
27. Yancey JR, Carson CN, McGlade EC, Yurgelun-Todd DA. A literature review of mental health symptom outcomes in US veterans and service members following combat exposure and military sexual trauma. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 2024;25 (2):1431-47 doi: 10.1177/15248380231178764.
28. Gaffey AE, Rosman L, Sico JJ, et al. Military sexual trauma and incident hypertension: A 16-year cohort study of young and middle-aged men and women. Journal of Hypertension 2022;40(11):2307 -15 doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003267.
29. Gross GM, Kroll-Desrosiers AR, Mattocks K. A longitudinal investigation of military sexual trauma and perinatal depression. Journal of Women's Health 2020;29(1):38-45 doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.7628.
30. Kendall-Tackett KA. Depression in new mothers: Causes, consequences, and risk factors. Fourth edition ed. Abington UK: Routledge, 2023.
31. Schafer KM, Wallace KF, Kross-Desrosiers A, Mattocks K. Posttraumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, and birth experiences at the Veteran Health Administration. Women's Health Issues 2024;34(3):303-08 doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2023.11.006.
32. Creech SK, Kroll-Desrosiers AR, Benzer JK, Pulverman CS, Mattocks K. The impact of military sexual trauma on parent-infant bonding in a sample of perinatal women veterans. Depression & Anxiety 2022;39(3):201-10 doi: 10.1002/da.23218.
33. Alvarez-Segura M, Garcia-Esteve L, Torres A, et al. Are women with a history of abuse more vulnerable to perinatal depressive symptoms? A systematic review. Archives of Women's Mental Health 2014;17:343-57.
34. Kastello JC, Jacobsen KH, Gaffney KF, Kodadek MP, Bullock LC, Sharps PW. Posttraumatic stress disorder among low-income women exposed to perinatal intimate partner violence. Archives of Women's Mental Health 2016;19:521-28.
35. Zerach G. The contribution of childhood adversity and potentially traumatic events during military service to PTSD and Complex PTSD symptoms among Israeli women veterans. Psychological Trauma 2023;15(8):1259-`170 doi: 10.1037/tra0001463.